Embodiments of present inventive concepts relate to temperature control, and more particularly, to thermoelectric temperature control devices, methods, modules, and components.
Thermoelectric materials such as p-BixSb2-xTe3 and n-Bi2Te3-xSex may be used to provide heat pumping (e.g., cooling and/or heating) and/or power generation according to the Peltier effect. Thermoelectric materials and structures are discussed, for example, in the reference by Venkatasubramanian et al. entitled “Phonon-Blocking Electron-Transmitting Structures” (18th International Conference On Thermoelectrics, 1999), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. A thermoelectric device, for example, may include one or more thermoelectric pairs with each thermoelectric pair including a p-type thermoelectric element and an n-type thermoelectric element that are electrically coupled in series and that are thermally coupled in parallel, and each of the thermoelectric elements of a pair may be formed of a thermoelectric material such as bismuth telluride (p-type or n-type Bi2Te3).
A plurality of p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements may thus be thermally coupled in parallel between first and second thermally conductive headers. The p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements may be electrically coupled in series so that an electrical current through the serially connected thermoelectric elements passes through the p-type thermoelectric elements in a first direction (e.g., in a direction from the first header toward the second header) and through the n-type thermoelectric elements in a second direction (e.g., in a direction from the second header toward the first header), with the first and second directions being opposite directions. Moreover, the directions may be reversed to reverse a direction of heat pumping. A thermoelectric control signal having a first polarity applied to the serially connected thermoelectric elements can thus be used to pump heat from the first header to the second header to heat a load coupled to the second header, and a thermoelectric control signal having a second polarity (opposite the first polarity) can be used to pump heat from the second header to the first header to cool a load coupled to the second header.
By thermally coupling such a thermoelectric component (or module) between a heat exchanger (also referred to as a heat sink) and a load, the thermoelectric component can thus be used to heat and/or to cool the load. Applications of thermoelectric heating/cooling are discussed, for example, in: U.S. Publication No. 2011/0132000 to Deane et al. entitled “Thermoelectric Heating/Cooling Structures Including a Plurality of Spaced Apart Thermoelectric Components”; U.S. Publication No. 2009/0205696 to Koester et al. entitled “Thermoelectric Heat Pumps Providing Active Thermal Barriers and Related Devices and Methods”; and U.S. Publication No. 2009/0188259 to Colja et al. entitled “Integrated Thermoelectric Cooling Element and Positive Temperature Coefficient Heater”. Reliability of such thermoelectric components may be reduced, however, when the thermoelectric component is used to heat to high temperatures and/or to maintain high temperatures for an extended period.